# Link attributes Category: [Link Building & Off-Page](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/link-building-off-page/) › [Link attributes](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/link-building-off-page/link-attributes/) **Link attributes**, in an SEO context, are values of the `rel` attribute on an `` element that describe how a link relates to its target. Searches for the term often return the general HTML attributes of the `` element, such as `href` or `target`, or the `` element in the page head. This entry covers only `rel` on links. ## Which values matter for SEO Google names three values to qualify outbound links. `sponsored` marks advertisements and paid placements. `ugc` marks links in user-generated content such as comments and forum posts. `nofollow` applies when neither fits and the site would rather not be associated with the target. Google says `nofollow` stays acceptable for paid links. MDN also lists `noopener` and `noreferrer`. They change what the browser does when a link opens, for instance whether the target page can reach `window.opener` or receives a `Referer` header. They are unrelated to ranking. ## Example ```html Partner offer Forum link ``` Several values can share one attribute, separated by a space. Google also accepts a comma-separated list. ## Link attributes compared | Value | Purpose according to Google | Required? | How Google treats it | |---|---|---|---| | no rel value (often called "dofollow") | regular link that Google is expected to fetch and parse without qualification | –; Google has no dofollow value | Google can follow and parse the link | | rel="sponsored" | advertisements and paid placements | for paid links, sponsored (preferred) or nofollow; otherwise link spam under the spam policies | hint; links with this value are generally not followed | | rel="ugc" | links in user-generated content such as comments and forum posts | recommended; can be removed for members with a consistent record of high-quality contributions | hint; links with this value are generally not followed | | rel="nofollow" | when no other value applies and you'd rather Google not associate your site with the target or crawl it from your site | no; still acceptable for paid links | hint, for ranking since 10 Sept 2019 and for crawling and indexing since 1 March 2020 | | nofollow as a robots meta rule | don't follow the links on this page | no | applies to every link on the page | Sources: [Google Search Central: Qualify your outbound links to Google (last updated 2025-12-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links); [Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search, link spam (last updated 2026-08-28)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam); [Google Search Central Blog: Evolving "nofollow" – new ways to identify the nature of links (2019-09-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify); [Google Search Central: Robots meta tag specifications, nofollow](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag). Last checked: October 8, 2026 ## Related terms - [nofollow](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/nofollow/index.md) - [rel="sponsored"](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/rel-sponsored/index.md) - [rel="ugc"](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/rel-ugc/index.md) - [User-generated content](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/user-generated-content/index.md) - [Link building](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/link-building/index.md) - [Link profile](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/link-profile/index.md) ## Sources - [Qualify your outbound links to Google – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links) - [rel – MDN Web Docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Attributes/rel) --- Last updated: October 8, 2026 URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/link-attributes/